251 Tasting Notes
Chocolate, rasberries, and, fleetingly, some melon…thats what I smelled when I opened the sample envelope. A few minutes later, all I could smell was chocolate and rasberries, so I wasn’t holding out much hope for melon. I was a bit surprised though, the brewed tea has nothing of chocolate or rasberries, but a clear melon taste and a good melon smell. A very light tea, as you’d expect from a white base, even with 4 minutes of steeping. This one delivers what the name implies.
Preparation
A light tea with a predominately green tea flavor. Significant floral notes, almost to the point of being a green jasmine tea. The floral taste doesn’t last long and it is a green tea that you get as an aftertaste.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find this tea in a better quality Chinese restaurant.
Preparation
I’m taking abuse in defense of tea! I opened the Golden Moon Lapsang Souchong sampler this rainy, dreary morning. I couldn’t imagine a better type of day to “get this one out of the way”. Opening the package brought back the smells of camping with the Boy Scouts in the East Texas Piney Woods…and abuse from my office mates for stinking the place up! I make no pretense, I don’t like smokey teas; I expected this tea sample to be a trial. So now I’m eating smokey humble pie. This tea is much better than anticipated…the smell is worse than its bite! I’ve adjusted though…no breathing in when taking a sip. The tea is mild and carries the smoke lightly and well, but thats about all I can say. I don’t get much in the way of nuances from the tea itself. Campfire tea!
Preparation
Random GM Sampler pick of the day. I was a bit skeptical about this tea, as I generally do not care for mint teas. I was pleasantly surprised. As far as teas go, it is a very mild green with a zinger of mint. The flavor was clean? Not antiseptic or tannic tasting, but more importantly, not earthy, woodsy, or musty. It was exactly what the ingredients would lead you to think…good quality green tea with mint. Situationally, I found it very relaxing after a tense day at work. Not something I’m likely to keep on hand, but I did enjoy the sample.
Preparation
105 degrees (the air temp, not the water!). Made up a 24 oz tumbler of this for pouring over ice. Brewed it a bit longer than I normally would, about 4 minutes, to get a little extra dark. Poured hot over ice and immediately strained over fresh ice in a glass. Wow! nice clean and crisp flavor with a bit of astringincy. The tannins reminded me of a heavily oaked Chardonnay…kind of woody, clean and sharp. Tried with both a touch of lemon and plain…not much difference either way. I think this one would take well to making sweet tea.
